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January 30, 2013 — One of the University of Wyoming’s newest professors has tackled
a decade-old question regarding the evolutionary origins of modularity and discovered
a new theory for why biological entities are organized into modules.

While a visiting professor at Cornell University, Jeff Clune
and fellow researchers discovered this: Modularity in biological networks, such
as networks of neurons and genes, does not evolve because it speeds up
adaptation, as the current leading theory professes. Rather, modularity in such
organisms evolves because it saves on “wiring costs” due to modular networks’
use of fewer and shorter connections.

“Neurons mostly connect only to nearby neurons,” says Clune,
an assistant professor of computer science
who became a faculty member at UW this month. “Evolution doesn’t want to build
tissue it doesn’t need, so it saves on the cost of building and maintaining
neural connections by using a modular design.”

This new theory is detailed in a paper titled “The
Evolutionary Origins of Modularity,” which was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society
Jan. 30 (today). In addition to Clune, the paper’s authors include Hod Lipson,
an associate professor in Cornell University’s departments of mechanical and
aerospace engineering and computer science; and Jean-Baptiste Mouret, a
robotics and computer science professor at Universite’ Pierre et Marie Curie in
Paris, France.

Many biological entities -- from human brains to gene regulation
to protein interactions -- are organized into modules, which are essentially
dense clusters of interconnected parts within a larger network. These modular
designs are similar to how engineers build cars out of various components, such
as spark plugs and fuel injectors, or how children create structures from
Lincoln Logs or Legos.

Using powerful computers, the research group simulated
25,000 generations of evolution. They were able to test their theory by
evolving networks with and without a cost for network connections.

Clune likened the findings to a road network. Within a city,
many of the roads are connected to each other, but few of the local roads are
connected to the roads in other cities. Instead, you have just a few
connections between cities (e.g. highways). Biological networks are organized
similarly, and for a similar reason: it is expensive to build connections
(roads), especially long ones.

Clune and his team used computational simulations of
evolution for their study for two reasons. It is much faster than natural
evolution, allowing evolutionary experiments with thousands of generations to
occur in a few days, and it provides more experimental control. It would have
been impossible, for example, to conduct this experiment in a naturally
evolving species because there is no way in nature to eliminate the cost for connections.

In addition to helping biologists understand why organisms
are built in a modular fashion, the results may well have significant
implications for evolutionary computation, which is a field that harnesses evolution
for engineering purposes, such as evolving artificially intelligent robots.

“Trying to figure out how to evolve modularity has been one
of the ‘holy grails’ of this field,” says Clune, whose specialty is artificial
intelligence. “We can use this discovery to create more intelligent robots that
can find people stranded in an avalanche, pick up trash in national parks or disarm
landmines.”

Photo:Jeff Clune, a UW assistant professor of computer science,
was part of a research team that discovered that modularity in humans and other
organisms evolves because it saves on “wiring costs” -- the costs associated
with building and maintaining network connections encourages the evolution of
modular designs, which have fewer and shorter connections.